Uisusparos Kingetoi (Celtic Spearmen)
Uisusparos kingetoi are light Celtic infantry equipped with a spear and several javelins. These freemen mainly fight in a shield-wall formation, but can function as skirmishers if the situation requires it. Description (Wai-soo-spar-os kin-get-oy - "Excellent Spear Warriors") Lugus, the master of arts, the king of the gods, used the spear. Hafted to the wood of the holy Ebor (yew) tree the fearsome Assail spear never failed to hit its mark, it never failed to find its prey. With this is mind do not underestimate those men who wield the spear and not the sword. True, the blood which flows in their veins may not be as blue as those with a scabbard tied to their waste, but the hearts which beat in their breasts, and the courage with which they face their foe is just as great. The Uisusparos Kingetoi are the finest spear wielding warriors to be found in these lands who do not sit atop a stead. Let any man who snubs the spear wielding warrior overcome the shield wall of these men, let him panic as his horse is speared from below, let him quake before these men as they pierce his heart and relieve him of his pathetic existence in this world. Historically, although swords are often considered to be the Keltoi weapon par excellence, we should not overlook the importance of the spear in Keltoi warfare. The Keltoi word for spear is Gaesum, but this ignores the fact that there was a wide variety of spear forms produced by Keltoi smiths. The site of La Tène in Switzerland, for example, where numerous examples of Iron Age metalwork were recovered revealed a wide variety of differently shaped spear blades. The existence of differently shaped spear blades in Gaul and elsewhere indicates that these weapons were intended for different purposes. Small, short blades would have been ideally suited to being used as projectiles, whilst those with longer, wider blades would have been intended for melee combat, the broad leaf shaped blade resulting in haemorrhaging when it was thrust into exposed flesh. Furthermore, as with swords and armour, it is possible to detect an evolution in the shape of spears as time progressed. During the earlier stages of the Later Iron Age, referred to as La Tène A and B by archaeologists, the majority of spears intended for melee combat were of the type described above, medium length with broad, leaf shaped blades. By the end of the Later Iron Age, the La Tène C and D phases, narrower, longer blades had emerged and were in use from the Belgic lands, to southern Gaul and Eastern Europe. The shape of these later blades suggests that they were designed to function as armour piercing weapons. The long, pointed blades on these spears would have been much better suited than the earlier leaf shaped spears at puncturing through mail, especially if the attack was made on horseback as was likely the case. We should not think of spears as being purely offensive weapons, but instead as possessing social functions and in some cases as being works of art as well. The inclusion of spears in several graves from the La Tène B period has often been interpreted as indicating that the occupant of the grave was a warrior. However in some cases it has been shown that the person buried in the graves was far too young to have fought as a warrior, suggesting that by including the spear the community was attempting to say something about the status of the individual in society. It is also worth noting that, when describing the feasting habits of southern Gauls in the late 2nd or early 1st century BC, the Hellene author Poseidonius mentions that the shield bearer and spear bearer held important positions as the chief's two principal retainers, and sat behind him during the feast. The social importance of spears can also be seen in the fine level of artwork applied to some of them. Just as some sword scabbards have been recovered which are adorned with highly intricate La Tène artwork, so too have some spears. One example from Saunieres in Gaul was found decorated with incised, complex La Tène patterning at the base of the blade, whilst another example from Broye in Switzerland had decoration on both sides of one half of the blade, with the largest pattern being a pair of swastikas. Category:Units Category:Units available only in EB2 Category:Aedui Category:Arverni Category:Boii